Then he went away by himself to pray in a desert.

Where do you find peace and rest in your life? Are there places you go to find a moment to yourself? Maybe it’s on a walk or a hike. It can even be your favorite coffee shop or a room in your house. Wherever it may be, what would it look like to go away to these places, not just to silence the noise, but to meet with Jesus and pray?

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We live in a busy, complex world where our fast-paced culture can leave our minds and hearts weary. We are constantly balancing the demands placed on our lives and the daily pressures in our work or school environments, combined with caring for our families and relationships or friendships. All of these stressors can lead to total exhaustion and burnout over time.

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While Jesus was busy on mission healing, preaching, saving, and doing, he prioritized praying and being with God. Prayer is having a conversation and connecting with our Father. Even though Jesus is the Son of God, he knew that everything he did flowed from the relationship he had with his Father. Finding rest in his conversations, Jesus intentionally made efforts to go away to a quiet place to connect. Jesus could fully serve others by being empowered by God and having a solid relationship with his Father first.

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While we live these busy lives, Jesus is the perfect model of what it means to have an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. When we live burnt out on life, we can’t fully serve others the way Jesus desires for us. Finding moments of prayer and making space in our lives to rest in our Father can help fill our hearts in a world that can easily burn us out.

Retreating to quiet places like Jesus did can be so hard in our busy world, though! Barriers and distractions can keep us from praying: time, work, fear, and doubt; this list can be endless. As we face these challenges, our heavenly Father wants to walk us through it all. Jesus delights in our prayers and wants to have a relationship with us. He desires to spend time with us and fill our hearts with his love.

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Just like Jesus retreated to a quiet place to pray and be with the Father, Jesus also takes great joy in our conversations with him through our prayers. What would it look like to prioritize a rhythm of prayer in your life? Taking time to pause our busy lives to rejoice in the Lord and ask him what he wants for us, or just finding moments of rest to yield to him, can fill our hearts in new ways. This rhythm of rest and prayer can allow us to experience the fullness of Jesus’ presence, comfort, and love in our lives.

Jesus, thank you for being such a great example of what it means to live a life of prayer. I desire to look more like you every day, and I know a part of doing that is to continue prioritizing my prayer life. While life continues to be busy around me, I ask that you guide me in keeping my eyes fixed on you, that I would keep my prayer life the foundation of everything I do. Apart from prayer, it is so difficult to live a life full of irrational generosity, radial love, and bold proclamation for you. I ask that in the moments where I go away to the quiet places of my heart, you continue to lead me in cultivating a hunger for deep prayer and worship of you. Holy Spirit, if there’s more, I want it! Amen.